Shoe provided with elastic bridging element



Q J; MELTZER SHOE PROVIDED WITH ELASTIC BRIDGING ELEMENT Filed Feb. 10, 1960 Jan. 31, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR:

JACK MELTZER J. MELTZER 2,969,600

sEoE' PROVIDED WITH ELASTIC BRIDGING ELEMENT Jan. 31, 1961 v -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10, 1960 INVENTOR: JACK M ELTZER U i d tes Pa t r SHOE PROVIDED WITH ELASTIC BRIDGING,

ELEMENT Y Jack Meltzer, 544 N. Laurel Ave., Hollywood, can. Filed Feb. 10, 1960, Ser. N o. 7,906 3 Claims. (Cl. sis-58.5

This invention relates to shoes of the type having a flexible bridging element running lengthwise of the shoe directlybeneath the wearers foot, and more particularly to an improved heelseat for such shoes. Specifically, the invention is an improvement over the heelpiece shown in copending application Serial No. 831,741, filed August 5, 1959. Coordinately, the invention relates to an improved method for manufacturing a shoe utilizing the present heelseat.

In the type of shoes referred to, the front end of a flexible bridging element is secured to the forward region of an insole, and the rear end of the bridging element is stitched or otherwise connected to the front end of an elastic. The rear end of the elastic is anchored to the rear end of the insole. such as foam rubber, is usually arranged on the rear region of the insole above the elastic, and finally a heelpiece conforming in shape to the contour of the rear region of the insole overlies the rear region of the insole and .is secured along its side and rear edges to the insole. The heelpiece thus conceals the elastic and cushion, and since it is not secured to the insole along its front edge, the bridging element is free to move lengthwise beneath it with respect to the insole, as the elastic expands and contracts. The expansion and contraction of the elastic occurs, of course, as the wearer walks, the bridging element serving to keep the shoe close to the wearers foot, since this type of shoe is usually provided with no quarter. This entire assembly is then ordinarily secured to an outer sole and heel, usually by adhesive material, to form a completed shoe.

Certain problems have arisen in shoes having this construction, among which are the following: The heelpiece as shown in the above-mentioned application is usually a single ply of leather, and hence presents a raw front edge which rapidly becomes roughened due to the movement of the bridging element therebeneath, thus impairing the appearance of the shoe; the cushioning material which contacts the elastic is quickly worn out by the constant expansion and contraction of the latter, and this cushioning material is not readily replaceable; the rough nature of the surface of the cushioning material which contacts the elastic hinders the free movement of the latter; and the force of the bridging element against the heelpiece caused by the bridging element being pulled taut by the elastic, tends to stretch the front edge of the heelpiece giving the shoe an unsightly appearance.

It is the object of this invention to alleviate the above and other problems, and toward this end a member, which may be a simple strip of leather, or the like, is provided which is folded upon itself to form a two-ply heelpiece, this heelpiece being secured to the insole just as'the'single-ply heelseat was secured. This type of heelpiece not only admirably solves the problems mentioned, but offers unusual opportunities for improving theappearance and function of the type of shoes in question.

A wad of cushioning material,

2,969,600 Patented Jan. 31, 1961' For example, if the member is made with its folded edge at the front of the heelpiece, a smooth and rounded front edge is presented which maintains its neat appearance for long periods of time. In addition, the use of a two-ply heelpiece offers the advantage of locating the cushion between the plies, thereby keeping it out of contact with the elastic, whereby the cushion is protected from wear, and the freedom of movement of the elastic remains unimpaired. The invention further contemplates the use of an inelastic ribbon, such as a ribbon of fabric, secured to the heelpiece between its plies adjacent and parallel to its folded front edge. Such a ribbon, due to its non-stretchable nature, prevents the undesirable stretching of the front edge of the heelpiece mentioned above. Furthermore, due to its location between the plies, the ribbon does not contact the moving bridging element and elastic, and hence will not be worn out as would happen if such a ribbon were used with a single-ply heelpiece.

A modification of the invention concerns provision of a two-ply heelpiece in which the upper ply is larger than the lower ply, i.e., the rear and side edges of the upper ply extend beyond the corresponding edges of the lower ply. This type of heelpiece offers a neater appearance than the heelpiece in which both plies are the same size, since the upper and larger ply serves to conceal the edges of the lower ply as well as the end edges of-the ribbon.

In addition, the upper ply may be wrapped around the.

rear edges of the insole itself, thus presenting a completely enclosed heelseat region, which is unusually neat inappearance.

Other' objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description which Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the heel region of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views representing suc-.

cessive stages in the method of manufacture;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a heelpiece before being folded upon itself to form two plies;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 of a modified heelpiece;

Fig. 8 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the heel region of a shoe constructed with the heelpiece of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring now to the drawings, a shoe provided with an embodiment of the improved heelseat of the present invention is shown in Figs. l-3 comprising generally, a sole 12, a heel 13 fastened to the sole, and a vamp 14.

- The sole 12 comprises an outer sole 15, and an insole unit 18. The insole unit includes an insolebody 19, which may be'foam rubber or other material, and a sock lining 20, which may be of leather, fabric, or other material,

The marginal portions of the sock lining 20 are wrapped around the edges of theinsole body 19, and secured, as by adhesive, to the undersurface covering the insole body,

of the insole body.

A bridging element 21, which may have a decorativelyshaped front end and'a narrowed rear region, is disposed in superposed relation to the sole 12.

The front end ofthe bridging element 21 is anchored to the forward regionof the sole 12; as by the stitching 22, and the rear end of" the bridging element is connected to the front end of a resilient elastic 25 such as by the stitching 26. The rear end of the elastic is secured to the rear end of the sole 12 as by the stitching 27. As may be seen clearly in Fig. 2, the lengths of the bridging element 21 and the elastic 25 are such that the elastic is always under tension thereby causing the bridging element normally to be disposed along a straight line from the forward region of the sole 12 to the heel region thereof.

According to previous constructions, if a wad of cushioning material, such as foam rubber, were used, it would be located on top of the elastic 25, in contact therewith, and a single ply heelpiece would be arranged on top of the cushion in order to conceal the latter and the elastic. This type of construction, however-,results in the difliculties mentioned above. According to the present invention, a heelpiece having a lower ply 28 and an upper ply 29, and preferably a cushion 32 therebetween, is secured to the rear region of the sole 12 in order to conceal the elastic 25 and provide a comfortable heelseat.

With reference to Fig. 6, aheelpiece 33, chosen to illustrate the present invention, may be seen-in unfolded condition. The heelpiece consists of a single-ply strip, which may be, for instance, leather, plastic or fabric, which is shaped at each endto conform generally to the contour of the rear region of the sole, 12. In the interest of 'producing a completed shoe having a neat appearance, it is preferred that the upper ply 29' of the heelpiece be made larger than the lower ply 28 so that when the heelpiece 33 is folded intermediate its ends along the line 35, the rear and side edges of the upper ply will extendbeyondthe corresponding edges of the lower ply. As a result, when the heelpiece is secured to the rear region of the insole unit 18, only the upper ply'willbe exposed. Furthermore, it is apparent from viewing Fig. 6 that the folded edge of the heelpiece is the front edge thereof, thus giving the shoe a long-lasting neat appearance.

As may be seen clearly in Figs.- 6 and 8, an inelastic ribbon 34 is secured, preferably by adhesive, to the smaller ply 28 in a position adjacent and parallel to the line 35 along which the heelpiece is folded. Since the ribbon 3'4 does not stretch, it prevents the forward edge of the heelpiece from stretching due to the upward force exerted on it by the bridging element 21 which is held in taut condition by the elastic 25. It is obvious that although the ribbon 34 is shown secured to the smaller and lower ply 28, it will serve its purpose equally well if secured to the ply 29, or if secured over the line 35 so as to be folded lengthwise when the heelpiece is folded. The rubbon 34 which would ordinarily be seen in Figs. 2 and 3 has, for the sake of clarity, not been shown in these views.

Another point should be mentioned which is of particular significance when the heelpiece 33 is made of leather. In such a case, the heelpiece wll usually have a smooth face and an unsmooth or textured face. It is therefore preferable to fold the heelpiece 33 so that the textured faces of the two plies, 28 and 29, face each other in order to produce a two-ply heelpiece both of whose faces are smooth. In other words, taking the face seen in Fig. 6 asthe textured face, the heelpiece would be folded by bringing both pliestoward the observer until they reach parallel planes. The advantage of this is that not only is the exposed face of the heelpiece smooth, thus enhanc" ing the appearance of the shoe, but the face of the heelpiecewhich contacts-the elastic-25 is smooth, thus assuring that there will be no interference with the free movement-of the elastic.

In the manufacture of a shoe which employs'the heelseat of the present invention, the rear end of the elastic 25 is first secured to the insole unit 18 by the stitching 27 (see Figs. 3, 4 and At this point the elastic is in contracted condition (Fig. 4) and hence the front end of the bridging element-21 does not reach the position on the forward region of the insole 18 to which it will eventually be secured. Howeven when theelastic 25 is.

stretched, as shown in Fig. 5, the front end of the bridging element 21 reaches the position shown and isanchored to the insole 18 by the stitching 22. It is, of course, obvious that the above procedure could be reversed and the front end of the bridging element 21 may be secured to the insole 18 first and then the elastic 25 stretched and its rear end secured to the sole. At this point the ply 28 of the heelpiece 33 which is to be the lower ply, is secured along its side and rear edgesto the sole 12'by the stitching 36. The ply 28 is large enough, to conceal the elastic even in its stretched condition. If a cushion 32 is used, it is arranged above the ply 28'. The cushion may either have been previously adhesively secured to the ply 28 or it may be secured together with the ply 28 to the insole 18 by means of the stitching 36. In either case, it is preferable for the cushion 32 to be stitched, since this compresses the cushion at its edges and causes it to bulge at its center. Finally, the upper ply 29 is laid over the cushion 32 and lower ply 28 and secured along its rear and side edges to theupper surface of the insole 18 by means of the stitching 39, as may be seen in Fig. 1. The ply 29 therefore completely envelops the cushion and the lower ply thus leaving only the upper ply 29 exposed. Also, since the front edge of the heelpiece is not secured to the insole 18, the bridging element is free to move beneath it as the wearer walks.

It may be seen, therefore, that the present invention offers a heelseat' which presents a smooth front edge, permits free expansion and contraction of the elastic 25, in which the cushioning material, if any, is out of contact with the elastic, and whose front edge will not stretch.

A modified embodiment of the-present invention may: be seen by referring to Figs. 7, 9 and'10. The heelpiece: 40 shown in Fig.7 is similar to the one shown inFig. 6'

except for the fact that the upper ply 42 is considerably larger than the upper ply 29 of the heelpiece 33. The. lower plydl may lie on the sole the same as the lower ply 28. A ribbon 43 may also be employed, identical to the ribbon 34. In the manufacture of a shoe employing this modified heelpiece, the lower ply 41 and cushion 32.

are secured as mentioned before. Thereafter the marginal portions of the upper ply 42, instead of being secured to the upper surface of the insole 18 as was the case with the upper ply 29, are wrapped around the insole 18 (see Fig. 10) and secured to the lower surfacev thereof, preferably by adhesive. In this construction, the marginal portions of the sock lining which are normally wrapped around therearregion oflthe insole body 19 may beelirnie nated, due to the presence of the marginal portions, of:

the upper ply 42. For this reason, the marginal portions of the sock lining 20 are not seen in Fig. 10.

Employment of the modified type heelpiece '40 is particularly advantageous when the heelpiece is made of a fabric because of the tendency of fabric to unravel at its edges. Hence, if a heelpiece such as that shown in Fig. 6 were used, and if the edges of the upper ply 29 unraveled to any extent, the shoe would immediately take on a shabby appearance. However, when the heelpiece 40is used, the edges of the upper ply 42 are concealed beneath the insole body 19, therefore, unraveling is no problem.

In either of the cases mentioned above, once the heelseat is secured in position, the insole unit 18 is secured to an; outer sole 15 in order to form a completed shoe.

It is understood that many of the details herein described and illustrated may be modified by those skilled.

in the art, without necessarily departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as expressed in the appended-.-

claims.

What I claim is:

anchored to the forward region of the insole and extend? ingrearwardly to the heel region thereof, an elastic ar ranged in tension overlying the heel region of the insole having its rear end anchored to the heel region of the insole and its front end connected to the rear end of the bridging element, and a separate heelpiece conforming in shape to the heel region of the insole overlying and completely concealing the elastic and being secured only along its rear and side edges to the heel region of the insole, said heelpiece being a member folded between its ends to form two superposed plies, the folded edge of said member being the front edge of the heelpiece, said front edge extending across the width of the insole and being free of attachment to the insole so as to provide an opening substantially as wide as the insole having a smooth and finished upper edge through which the rearward region of the bridging element can move freely in a longitudinal direction as the insole is flexed.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1 including 8. cushion between said plies, said cushion being small enough to be concealed by the upper of said plies.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1 including an inelastic ribbon secured to said heelpiece between said plies adjacent and parallel to said folded edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,756,107 Taniqawa Apr. 29, 1930 2,844,891 Meltzer July 29, 1958 2,897,612 Meltzer Aug. 4, 1959 

